It's beautiful here : BEIRUT
“Nothing is very constant in Beirut. Certainly not dreams. But despair isn’t constant either. Beirut is a city to be loved and hated a thousand times a day. Every day. It is exhausting, but it is also beautiful.”
― Nasri Atallah
Hi friends,
Every now and again I’ll be sharing my favourite 5 things of cities I’ve visited and loved over here. Because I have a penchant for solo travel, I invariably end up instant besties with a local I’ve struck up a conversation with, so many of my favourites are not your usual touristy things.
First up : Beirut, Lebanon.
Yes, really.
There is no war there. It ended in 1990! That’s 30 years ago and despite what the UK government will warn about visiting this region, I felt safer there than I do in parts of London.
Also, it’s a year today since I was there so it seems apt to share what I love about her.
It seems a little dramatic to assume we will never travel again, but none of us have any idea what comes next.
That said, here’s a little homage to Beirut, Lebanon with 5 things I highly recommend. I loved this city so much, I went back again.
*note* The only real research I did was to read this book before booking my flights and I also took an exec (aka risky) decision to ignore all the warnings against travel to this area on the British GOV website. As with everything in life, nothing in these posts are instructions for how to live your life, you are the only one who knows you so YOU DO YOU.
However, I highly recommend visiting this beautiful city at least once before you die.
Beirut Metro Line As Planned In 1968 By Soviet Engineers.
1. Sleep
I opted out of staying in one of the 5* hotels in downtown Beirut and instead stayed in an old, renovated Lebanese home that has been converted into a hotel. Just a few beautiful rooms located in the Hamra district, 2kms from the centre of Beirut. This city is so small you can walk everywhere with no problems (just beware there are hardly any pavements and a lot of potholes!)
Best. Decision. Ever. My flight was delayed and they stayed up to welcome me and even cooked me dinner at midnight. Lebanese hospitality is no joke!
Some other intimate hotel options :
a) Baffa House
c) Villa Clara
Anyone still confused if this is a war-torn city, they have a Four Seasons hotel.
2. Eat
As luck would have it, my little hotel had one of the most famous garden restaurants in Beirut - Tawlet El Hamra (reservation needed if you’re not a guest!)
Do yourself a favour and order a kanafeh. You’ll never be the same again.
Kanafeh is a traditional Middle Eastern dessert made with thin noodle-like pastry, or alternatively fine semolina dough, soaked in sweet, sugar-based syrup, and typically layered with cheese, or with other ingredients such as clotted cream or nuts, depending on the region.
Lebanese food is phenomenal, I did not stop eating:
I highly recommend taking a coffee in one of the small, traditional, hole-in-the-wall Lebanese coffee shops that are pretty much everywhere. They have 2 or 3 plastic chairs outside and a couple of old men, drinking coffee & smoking. Hardly anyone speaks English but you don’t need to speak at first. They’ll invite you to sit with them and just watch the world go by. Have one of the many cigarettes they offer you. The coffee, at the current exchange rates, works out at about 0,00001p and it will put hairs on your chest, it’s that strong. They ask where you are from, and then throw their hands up and shake their heads when you say South Africa!
Ja, that old chestnut.
They want to share stories with you about the war. Who died, who lived. Show you a few bullet scars. Someone, somewhere, across the street, will be called over to translate into English for you. I’ve never had so much coffee in my life.
It’s pure magic.
THIS is why we travel. To share stories. To remind ourselves that the inane garbage we worry about on a day-to-day basis is both inconsequential and irrelevant. To see that there is so much more to this life.
And for a few hilarious marriage proposals thrown in for fun.
Fancy coffee places if you’re not that keen on the tradish version:
a) Papercup (also a great bookshop)
b) Kalei Coffee
c) Backburner
The famous Holiday Inn - still standing as a reminder to the brutal civil war (1975-1990)
3. American University of Beirut (AUB)
This beautiful University deserves at least a few hours to wonder around and visit the gardens as well as my favourite building - the Issam Fares Institute designed by Zaha Hadid.
Zaha was born in Baghdad and studied mathematics at AUB before moving to London to start a career in architecture. She returned to design this building for the university as a thank you for her time here.
Watch a live webcam of AUB here
4. Shopping
Beirut is so small that you could see the whole city in a day or two. My favourite thing to do is to get lost down some side streets because the best shopping is there.
Main shopping districts if you want more of a touristy feel:
a) Mar Mikhael
b) Gemmayzeh
c) Saifi Village
d) Clemenceau
e) Downtown Beirut
I found the loveliest concept store (Plan BEY) on a long walk through Gemmayzeh and got to spend 2 hours chatting to the most interesting refugee from Syria called Qasim.
Adding The Slow to my next trip.
5. Yoga
Easily the cleanest and most well designed yoga studio I have visited in my life. I am still raving about the Jivamukti classes I took here.